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Published online 1 March 2006 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news060227-4

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MRSA "hiding in hospital sinks and vases"

Killer bug could breed inside microscopic water-borne organisms.

The deadly MRSA bug could be lurking in a hitherto unsuspected corner of hospital wards, by hiding away inside amoebae: single-celled organisms that flourish in settings such as hand-wash basins and vases of water.

British researchers have found that the deadly multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can live and reproduce inside amoebae, as well as being spread from person to person by bodily contact.

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